GRAFFITI ART WORKSHOPS

In reply to the Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15 May 2012).

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations): The Minister for Arts has been advised:

Carclew Youth Arts acknowledges that unauthorised graffiti is an illegal activity. However, there are opportunities for artists to paint legally through private and public commissions. By providing advice on the legal avenues for graffiti art it is helping solve the problem of illegal vandalism.

There are now opportunities for artists to gain commissions to create this kind of work in the public space, and these workshops aim to offer a bridge or entry point for artists to work legally and gain such commission and opportunities.

The tutors engaged in the workshops have good reputations for their legal activity. They support themselves as artists working on murals for Local Councils, schools, community centres, various railway stations and transport interchanges, private commissions, festivals and gallery exhibitions. They are role models for artists wishing to work in this medium.

Through a recent City Messenger article promoting the workshops, Carclew has already been asked to refer four artists for a potential private commission taking place inside a warehouse apartment in the city, as well as a mural that is facing a new apartment development near the Central Market.

Carclew Youth Arts has been running a public art program for over 17 years. Staff are well-versed in providing information about how to create artworks in the public space.

Workshop tutors expressly talk about the negative aspects of creating work illegally and the workshops being each day with this being stated up front.